Chapter 21: 

A week later things seemed to be getting back to normal. Mina hadn’t heard much from Alex but as far as she knew they were still a couple. Madison talked with Justin and it looked like they had finally DTR’d. Mina couldn’t be happier for her, Madi deserved to be happy and Justin was the greatest. She must have known Mina was thinking about her because just then Madison comes bouncing into her office. 

“You’re awfully happy” Mina states, finishing up her invoice and turning towards her best friend. 

“Justin just invited me on a ski trip. I haven’t been in ages!” 

Madison’s family owned a cabin in Vail and used to go every year. Mina even got to tag along one winter break in college. 

“That’s great! Glad to hear things are going well with you two”

Madi just continues beaming. “He’s invited a few friends and I think he mentioned we were going to Switzerland!” 

“Oh wow! That’s… well he’s Justin so I guess that’s feasible for him” Mina laughs. Her chat with Madison is suddenly interrupted by Sarah buzzing in 

“Mina call on line 2” 

“Thanks Sarah. Hang on Mads” she replies, picking up her desk phone. 

“Mina Morgan” 

“Willie! It’s Josh” 

“No one else calls me Willie, Josh. Why are you calling my desk line?” she laughs

“I’m driving and I told my phone to call you and it just picked a number” JC chuckles. Mina laughs in reply. 

“What’s up? You typically only call when you want something”

“Touche… J is putting together a ski trip” 

“So I’ve heard. Madison just told me about it” she adds- grinning at her. 

“Would you like to come with?”

“I don’t want to impose…”

“J said I could bring someone along” 

“Who else is going?” Mina asks

“Lance, Michael, and some friends of Justin’s. I’m not quite sure who” 

“Okay. I don’t want to be a fifth wheel or anything”

“You won’t be” JC says and Mina can sense the smile on his face

“Sure” she tells him. 

“Really? Great! Oh before I forget… Justin’s cabin is full so I rented one for myself… there’s only one room but I can crash on the couch” 

“Oh really… just us… are you trying to seduce me?” Mina teases. Madison raises an eyebrow from where she sits, eager to know the other side of the conversation. 

“Guess you’ll have to wait and find out” he teases back. Mina quiets. “I’ve got to head into a meeting. Talk later Willie” JC adds, saying goodbye. Mina hangs up and leans back in her chair. 

“What was that all about?” Madi inquires

“Looks like I’m going on the ski trip too! Switzerland huh?” 

“Really Min? You’re avoiding the obvious…”

“Oh you mean what Josh said? We’re sharing a cabin, Justin’s is full” Mina says, nonchalant. She turns back to her computer and starts on more work. 

“Oh really… do tell”

“There’s nothing to tell. Seriously. That’s all he said” 

“Sure…” Madison laughs, heading back to her own office. 

Mina opens up her calendar and assigns events to coordinators. Thankfully they had hired two new event coordinators to help out during the busy holiday season. Not the best time for them both to be gone and she should have checked the calendar before agreeing to go but she didn’t think Josh was gonna take no for an answer. Besides both her and Madison could use the time away. 

As the day goes on Mina gets more and more excited for the potential ski trip. It had been awhile since she’d gone anywhere and a small vacation and a snowy cabin in the Alps with Josh sounded perfect. She grins to herself as she picks up her phone and sends a quick text. 

“Are you free tonight? We need to talk”

“I’m on call but I can probably make time” Alex answers. Mina taps her nails against her desk. How did she want to do this…

“Okay. I’ll just call you then, around 8” 

“Okay” 

A little after 8 Mina rings Alex. It rings 4 times before he picks up 

“Hi” he says

“Hey… I know we haven’t talked much since our fight” 

“Mina…” 

“I know…just… just let me get this all out first” she tells him 

“Okay” 

“I know I told you there was nothing to worry about but you have every right to be jealous. Josh and I have a very complicated history and honestly… there may still be some lingering feelings there, on both our parts. I know this probably isn’t what you really wanted to hear but it took me awhile to realize it myself and I can’t keep lying to myself about it. We never officially called it quits, you & I and well.. Josh has invited me to go away with him and I just… it wouldn’t be fair to you if I went and we were still together, not knowing what could happen and all these weird feelings. You’re a really great guy and I’m sorry” Mina explains. She hears Alex sigh and then a long silence follows. 

“Thank you for being honest with me” he finally says “While I do really care about you… I can tell that it’s not me that you’re meant to be with” 

“I wish you the best. You’ll find someone perfect for you I’m sure. You’re a great catch” Mina replies. They say their goodbyes and hang up. She lets out a sigh. Madison would be proud that she finally admitted the truth to herself. Mina glances at her calendar on her desktop. Only a week until the ski trip. This would be fun.